Deception
by jax2u
Summary: What if Janet did not tell Eddie about sleeping with Rooster? October Road would NOT be the same!
1. Their Beginning

"Hey." Janet walked into Eddie's hospital room for only the second time since Matt Lausch and his goons beat the living day lights out of him. Minus all those bruises, his fat lip and swollen shut left eye, he looked ten times better than last time she saw him. It would still be a few days till he could leave the hospital and even longer till he could work full time again, but Eddie knew he could get through the excruciating pain and continuous boredom if Janet was there.

Actually, he was kind of nervous that she would **not** be there for him; after he told her about Rory… she just bolted. But the minute Eddie could walk on his own again, he was determined to make her understand that Rory was his past, and **she** was his future. He wanted to call her earlier, after she visited him the first time, but knew she was Hannah's slave till the engagement party. That was the talk of the town for quite some time now and Hannah wanted everything to be perfect. Being the best friend that she is, Janet voluntered to help her with whatever Hannah needed. So, needless to say he was more than excited to see that beautiful face of hers walk back into his hospital room.

Janet walked past his bed and headed towards the window. She hated hospital rooms; even if it was just to visit someone, she could not stay very long. Ever since she had to watch her mom die in one, she was not too keen of them. So she figured if she couldn't lay in that bed with his arms wrapped around her, the next safest place would be to stand by the window.

He replied back with a simple "hey" and immediately turned off the tv. A giddy smile crept onto his face, but then he saw that worried look of hers and knew something was up. "Everything ok?"

She nodded her head once and showed a weak smile. "I have to tell you something."

"I knew it, you said you were ok with me and Rory but man, I knew there was more to come. Alright, fire away." Janet paused, she was sort of in shock at how blunt he was and sort of wishing the knot in her stomach would go away.

She gingerly sat on the bed next to him and looked out the window. _I can't tell him __**now**__. Even though he looks better, he is still so raw- so vulnerable. I just… can't. Not yet anyway. DAMNIT! I was so ready to just lay it all out there to him, he deserves to know. He was honest with me… I have to be honest with him. I just have to, right? _

_Later. I'll tell him when he is recovered. OH God. What have I done?! _


	2. Their Talk

"Janet?" Her gaze out the window quickly ended as she turned towards him once again. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, right. I uh, I don't think I can go to Hannah's engagement party today." A look of surprise, yet relief came upon Eddie's face. He was expecting to hear how mad she was at him, how she might need some time to think, or how she always trusted him and a little piece of that trust chipped off, and even though he was up front about his kiss with another woman she needed to take a step back and analyze what she really wants. He was expecting anything else but what came out of her mouth.

Janet said nothing more and waited for him to respond back. "What do you mean exactly? You're not creased at me for kissing Rory?"

_HaHa! That's the biggest understatement of the year. How do I answer that and not come clean? Alright I can do this. Just gotta stay on my toes, be honest but don't tell the whole story. _

She gulped and decided to play the jealous girlfriend card. "Well, I mean yeah, I was upset. I probably should not have left the way I did after you told me, and I'm sorry about that, but I went home, thought about it and it was just a kiss, right?"

Eddie nodded with complete certainty, "Right. Yes."

"Okay, so if nothing else happened, all I need to do is give her a well due bitch slap and a warning that if she pulls anything else like that again, I will kick her ass all the way to Switzerland and back. I may be short but she's pretty tiny, I could take her." She held her breath, afraid that he could tell she was covering something. But apparently all those quick and clever responses she had to come up with when drunk men hit on her at Sully's paid off; Eddie let out a roar of laughter. This made her relax some and for the first time since she walked in his hospital room, she genuinely smiled.

Still laughing, he said "come here," pulled her arm so she had to move up on the bed and laid a big wet one on her. The first kiss since Rory and the first kiss since Rooster; it was not real passionate or intimate, just a hard, full on the lips lovers kiss. She tried to be gentle because his lips were still cut and pretty dry, but he seemed to not care. He wanted to kiss his girlfriend, and kiss her he did! It was in that moment that Janet was more than assured that she made the right decision to not tell him now.

"Wait, so why can't you go to Hannah and Ray's party? You are like, her maid of honor. Don't you **have **to go?"

"I don't **have** to do anything."

"Janet-"

"Look, if I have to choose between Hannah's fiancé and you… of course I am going to choose you! Ray does not own me, Hannah does not own me, I can make my own choices. So, I don't want to go. End of story." Even though all of what she just said was true, the knot in her stomach still lingered. Eddie looked at her puzzled; he knows Janet is dedicated to him, but to trump her best friend like this? This was not Janet…

"Babe, it's ok. You can go to the party, support Hannah, don't support Ray if you don't want to but I don't own you either."

"But don't you Eddie? As my boyfriend, you have more say in my life right now than my best friend. Hannah, she knows I love her and that I will support her, but I don't have to be happy about it. I just, can't go over there pretending I am ok with everyone when I'm not. You are hospitalized because of Ray and his friends! I mean really, once I'm there… what am I supposed to do?

"Have fun! Take advantage of the free booze, for both of us… dance and listen to all the talk people are buzzing about. Then, when the party has died down, come back here and tell me about it! Tell me what you danced to, how many dirty looks Ray was giving Nicky, who showed up with whom… just, go and ignore the Big Cat. But don't ignore Hannah; be there for her, not him. I'm sure she wants you there and J, you can't blame this on her. You know that! This is not Hannah's fault, she just happens to be marrying the biggest, slimiest, most jealous guy in the world. So, you can't blame Hannah. At least, not about this. As much as I would love to just be with you right now, as your boyfriend, I am saying you **have** to go. "

While Janet stared at him, Eddie slid his reddened hand up and down her arm. She really did not feel up to putting on an act for hours about how happy she was and how relieved that Eddie was going to be ok. She was not happy at all; in fact, she felt even more humiliated and guilty and horrified than when she was lying next to Rooster naked the other night in her bed. To top it off, Rooster was going to be there! Even though she thought she made it crystal clear that she wanted nothing to do with him after that night, he still kept creeping around her! And Hannah expected her to tell Eddie the truth already. She wanted to hold off a little longer till the lies kept pouring out of her mouth again. And honestly, (ironicly enough) she was a little creased at Hannah! When Janet had the courage to tell Hannah how she is blind for not yet realizing how slimy Big Cat can be, Hannah turned it back on her; she said how Janet didn't have the right to be giving her boy advice! Janet just wished her best friend opened her eyes more when it came to things like this... enough already!

"Okay, you're right. I know I cannot blame Hannah, that would not be fair. But that doesn't mean I am not frustrated with her! God, I just wish everything was different! Eddie if only we could go back to that one night, none of this-"

He pushed his right index finger softly against her lips to make her stop mid sentence. "Don't. It's not worth getting angry over. I already did all that and nothing changed. It can't change. What's done is done baby."

Geez, it was almost like he was directly talking to her about the infidelity!

Her head bobbled and she decided she said enough. Eddie seemed to make the decision for her, she was going to Hannah and Ray's engagement party whether she felt up for it or not.


	3. Her Loathing

_I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I lied to him about something so- huge. And got away with it. What the hell was I thinking?! He __**knows**__ me, he will know over time that I'm hiding something… and then, when the guilt takes over me, when it's time, to tell the truth… God I don't even wanna think about what Eddie will do. Or what he'll say. Or how he will give me that disappointed look of his, the one that makes anyone cringe who is in the same room as him. _

_Someone shoot me now. _

Walking down the gloomy hospital corridor, Janet was shaking. Her body was literally shaking by itself because of what she did to the most fantastic man in the world. The whole story of not wanting to go to Hannah and Ray's engagement party was bull shit. Yeah, she was a little disappointed that Hannah was still with Ray, let alone going through with the marriage, but like Eddie said, she supported her friend because she loved her. It was the first thing to pop in her head when Eddie asked what she wanted to tell him, so she just went along with it. There was no way in hell that she could tell him the truth about how she screwed up their relationship. Not yet anyway. She needed to deal with Rooster first.

Janet hated Rooster now, hated. In her eyes, he doesn't even deserve to be given the chance to see the light of day. Since homecoming weekend, when Eddie declared his feelings for her in front of everyone, Rooster was convinced that Eddie was just using her and tried to convince Janet as well. From that moment till now, Rooster never acted like a true friend towards her. He did not support anything when it came to Janet and Eddie; a true friend would support you and be happy for you that you finally have that special someone. Guess Rooster wasn't such a great friend like Janet thought after all.

Ever since they were kids, Janet and Rooster hit it off well. Being the outsiders growing up, they had a special bond like no one else. It was like they were born to be friends; but certainly not _lovers_. They helped each other through hard times and pushed one another to reach their goals. But Rooster did not push Janet towards Eddie, if anything; he tried to push them away. Not only by saying that Eddie was using her, but by bringing up high school… talking about all of Eddie's former girlfriends/bed buddies... not to mention the non-stop gossip about Rory when she came back in town.

"Eddie Latekka only does two things to women Janet, number one: he sleeps with them. Number two: he throws them away like the afternoon trash. You are not trash. You deserve better." Blah blah blah.

Yes Eddie has a history, but who doesn't? Janet saw Eddie for years hanging at Sully's, night after night, picking his next girl to bed. She quickly became aware of his game: the sweet talk vs. the aggressive talk, ordering beer vs. shots, cologne vs. no cologne. One thing that never changed throughout those nights- his smile. Sure he had a smile that would make any girl who had eyes melt, but it was fake. So obvious sometimes, Janet was sure that eventually, one of his "lady friends" would notice the pretendingness to it. Yet, they never did.

And now, when Eddie smiles at her… it definitely is **not** that fake smile. He never was or had to pretend with her, she was different. And on numerous occasions Eddie made sure that knew it too.

As for Rooster, he did not understand. And he certainly did not try to push her back towards Eddie **that night**. No, Rooster took advantage that night. Janet only called Rooster in the first place because she thought he was working at Sully's and could bring by some hard liquor. She would have gone to Sully's herself, but she was not exactly in the best mood, so to speak.

By the time he showed up at her house, she had already been crying non-stop for a half hour. Rooster was there, comforting her, saying all the right things, making her feel wanted again. It kind of reminded her of the old times... But they only reason Janet and Rooster had sex was because she was heartbroken and drunk; neither of which pertained to Rooster. Okay, yes, she kissed him first, but he did not pull away. Knowing full well Janet belonged to another man, he slept with her anyway. He was not drunk, he was not hearbroken, and he was tired of being jealous. He wanted Janet back, all to himself. But for what? To prove to everyone, including himself, that he c**ould** get the girl? To have something in common with Eddie Latekka? Or did Rooster actually think that Janet would choose him over Eddie…

Just the thought of being with Rooster, like actually having a relationship with him, made her want to throw up green vomit.

Before she knew it, Janet was outside the hospital doors; the bright spring sunshine hit her skin and made her relax a bit. She let out a sigh, headed to her Jeep and was off to her best friend's engagement party. Dealing with Rooster would have to wait till later.


	4. HisHer Showdown

Once she was at the engagement party, Janet just lingered around, chatted with Pizza Girl and Aubrey and occasionally drank some champagne. Not that she had much to celebrate, but she was mainly doing it for Eddie's sake. It seemed like the whole town was there, and it seemed like they all heard about Eddie. Everyone was asking Janet concerned questions about him, "How is Eddie? How does he look? Will he need surgery? How long till he can leave the hospital? What **did** happen anyway? And who did it? Eddie Latekka is not the kind of guy to just let people beat the crap out of him and get away with it… I'm so glad he has someone like you to help him through this hard time." Etcetera etcetera etcetera. Naturally, Janet graciously answered all their questions and was truly thankful for their concerns, but when she was done playing twenty questions, it was time to bust some moves out on the dance floor. And sure enough, there was Rooster. Right behind her dancing, trying to grind up on her body.

She didn't want to make a scene, but the casual glaring and "back off Rooster" remarks seemed to not be getting inside that chicken brain. It was time, even though it was not the place, to deal with him. She yanked on his arm, hard, and said loudly enough for only him to hear "we need to talk." Normally he would be anxious to talk with her, but there was something in her voice that said something was terribly wrong. They headed into the house; Janet was practically sprinting and Rooster was having a hard time keeping up with her. There was people everywhere, even inside, and Janet did not want anyone to hear their conversation, so she led Rooster up to Hannah's bedroom.

"Janet, you ok?"

"Just, shut the door Vincent." He cautiously did what he was told, took a couple steps towards Janet but she took a few more steps back. She was nervous, scared and furious all at the same time. But all he knew was that something was off…

"Vincent, you never call me that. Only when you are-"

"Pissed off?!"

"I was going to say something more subtle, like upset, or puzzled. But yeah, pissed off works too."

"Will you stop squawking and let me talk!" Janet paused and saw his worried face stare back at her. He looked like he was a twelve year old boy about to get in trouble from the principal. She didn't want to start a scream fest, so she took a deep breath, gathered all the courage she had left and began to tell him how she really felt. "Look, you can't keep showing up everywhere, pretending like everything is ok."

"But I thought… everything's not ok?"

"NO!"

"But Janet! The other night-"

"Was a mistake. I was drunk and heartbroken and in a way I took advantage of you, but you took advantage of me too."

"No, I would never do that. You are my best friend, I confide in you and trust and respect you like no one else. I'm not like Eddie Latekka."

"No, you're not. You are the complete opposite of him. Eddie would never try to push me down like you have been doing the past 7 months."

"Push you down. What are you talking about?! I haven't been-"

"Oh yes you have! Ever since I started going out with Eddie, it was like I was on a higher social level than you or something. The way you treated me and acted whenever Eddie was near by... and you could not have that, could you! You made sure I had some sort of doubt in the back of my mind, all the time, when I was with him. And you know what, it worked. I was never 100 percent sure that he was really into me the way he seemed to be… thanks to you."

"So you admit, you did think that he was just using you."

"You're not hearing me Vincent!"

"No, what I'm hearing is that you basically single handedly blame **me **for what happened between us, and between you and Eddie!"

"No, not just you. I blame Rory for kissing Eddie, and I blame Eddie for being so upfront about it to me afterwards, and I blame myself for turning to you. The one person I knew would not try to reason with my head, instead of asking Eddie about the kiss himself. God, I knew! I knew that you wouldn't really 'help me' see what really happened between Rory and Eddie that night, and yet… you were the one person I called."

"And why is that Janet? I'll tell you why, because you trust me completely. Because you also know that I will be there, no matter what!"

"Honestly, it was because I thought you were working and could bring me some booze on your break. I mean yeah, I expected you would want to comfort me or whatever… but not _that_ way. I mean, God Rooster, how could you? HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A TERRIBLE THING?"

He was in disgust; he could not believe what Janet was saying. This was not the best friend he knew, something else was going on. He waited a few, before he answered, to have a moment to look at her; she was so broken, yet so together. She was not exactly as broken as the other night, which was probably the lowest Rooster ever saw her. In this moment, she held strong and he could tell she was passionate about what she was saying, but she was breaking inside. Her whole world went upside in a matter of days, and he could tell she was not dealing well. But if he needed to take the heat, then he would take it for her sake. He did have a lot to do with her breakdown after all; it wasn't entirely his fault, but he _was_ at fault. Rooster finally, calmly answered her, "how could I not?"

"Actually, it's quite easy! You keep your hands to yourself and your tongue in your own mouth."

"Janet, come on. You kissed me first!"

"Yeah, ok yes, I kissed you. Because you were saying all the right things and you were there… not Eddie. I wanted it to be him, but he was getting the shit at the time from Matt. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is you didn't have to kiss me back, or- or hold me tight or take my clothes off, or follow me in the bedroom… OR **have sex with me.** You took advantage of me, of my body, of my emotions, of the whole situation and all you can say is 'how could I have not.' ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

"Okay, in my defense- I just wanted to make you feel better. You were so broken. And so hurt and I couldn't understand how another man could do that to someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Someone who is _usually_ so understanding, and caring and loving… I don't understand how anyone could take advantage of a person like that. So, after you lunged at me and kissed me, yeah, I thought about stopping it. But then I also thought that maybe, this was my chance, **our **chance. For a new start, to climb to the next level as lovers. You clearly thought it was over with Eddie, so maybe I was the person to help you get past him. Janet, I would never hut you the way he did, ever. I know how special you are; if we ever do become a couple, I want you to know I won't take you for granted. I never have. _I get you!_ Do you understand? I know you."

"We never were and never will be lovers. And quite frankly, just the thought of there being a Rooster and Janet makes me want to hurl. I feel nothing for you expect hatred right now."

They were at an impasse; obviously there was no going back to being lovey-dovey friends and Janet clearly did not want a relationship with Rooster. Maybe over time (a long period of time) they could at least be sociable, but not now. Janet was Rooster's person, for everything, and Rooster was Janet's sidekick; but all of that was no more. It was sad if you think about, they have been through so much together. Now, they went through something much bigger, something that was much more grown up; except, they did not know how to deal with it like grown-ups.

For a few seconds there was complete silence in the room, then there was a faint voice coming from downstairs. It was Hannah calling Janet's name. "I better go, Hannah's looking for me." Janet began to walk to the door but as she passed Rooster, he grabbed her arm and puller her closer to him. She got uneasy and tried to pull away, but he was not letting her go for anything.

Quietly and calmly he said, "Let me just say this. If you need to blame me and hate me because it will make you feel better, then fine. But that night… I have no regrets; you came to **me**, not him. Because you don't completely trust him. Or you trust him but don't have faith in yourself, or maybe it's a little bit of both. But you always trusted me Janet. So how can you be in a relationship without completely trusting each other? I thought you knew better than that." Janet looked up at him with raging eyes, but before she responded he said one more thing. "I'm not going to tell anyone we slept together, don't worry. I can't betray you like that. You just really need to get over yourself because this is not all my fault."

He released his grip, took a step back and watched her flee the room. It was then that Rooster finally broke down; he quietly shut the door once more and cried like a baby.

As Janet thumped down the stairs wiping away her misty eyes, she heard Hannah's voice in the kitchen. "I can't seem to find her, did you try her cell?" And that's when she popped in behind her.

"Is that Eddie?"

"Oh wait. Yeah, here she is. Hang on a sec Eddie… yeah, it's him. Where'd you go? I checked all over, I know there is a lot of people here but-"

"I was upstairs. Talked to Rooster."

"OOhhhh. Well tell me about it later. You better answer the phone, Eddie seemed anxious to talk to you." Hannah gave her the phone, smiled and went outside to entertain her guests. Janet went to the laundry room so she had a little more privacy to talk to her boyfriend.


	5. His Worry

"Baby?"

"Hey… there she is." The second she heard his voice, tears were flowing from her eyes. She kept it pretty together throughout the whole talk with Rooster; actually, she was so enraged before, crying did not even cross her mind. But Eddie… he always brought out her softer side. Even when she was pissed off. "I was sitting in bed here, flippin through the channels, and a re-run of Desperate Housewives was on. Then of course I instantly thought of you. I know how much you love your soap-shows. So, what goes on? Obviously you are still at the party, you having fun? Drinking lots of champagne for me?"

Janet let out a giggle trying to not make the crying obvious. "You bet. Wish you were here! It's not the same hanging with everyone when you're gone."

"I'll be back soon." For a few moments neither of them spoke, but Eddie heard her sniffles and quickly responded. "J, are you crying? Babe- what's wrong?"

She could hear the concerned tone in his voice and as if on cue, her crying turned into sobbing. "Ye, yeah, yes."

"Aww, J… come on now. Everything's fine…"

"No, I know… its just b-b-beeeen a long couple, daysss. I'll be ok. I th-think I need some sleep is allll."

"Well, if you want you can come visit me. I'm sure I can think of something to make you relax. And you could even spend the night here, the nurses are pretty easy on me. I don't think it would be a problem." Doing nothing but stay in bed for the rest of the day with him… it would be heaven. And after her talk with the chicken, Janet could use a little pick me up. But could she seriously just lay around with him for hours on end and not want to tell him? She wasn't exactly at her strongest point right now. Between Rory coming back in town, and then Rooster, Eddie in the hospital and Hannah's party, the past few days have been hell. Janet was at her breaking point; she knew it too and was pretty sure that if she hung around Eddie long enough, he would know. "J, please… do you know how much it hurts me right now, knowing that you're sobbing, probably in some corner or in a room all alone, and I'm not there to make you feel better? I know Hannah probably needs you there, but I bet if she saw you right now, she'd let you leave. Even if you are her maid of honor."

"Oohhh-kay. I'll comme."

Eddie let out a sigh of relief and his heart skipped a beat, he was going to have at least 12 hours alone with his girl for the first time in days. It wasn't until he heard her sad voice on the phone when he realized just how much he missed her. It kind of scared him, yet he wasn't too surprised. Once they became serious as a couple (which was basically after the first time they slept together) there was not an hour that went by without a text or a quick hello. But when he got admitted in the hospital, he was surprised how distant Janet was acting. When she would call, she always had an excuse to cut the conversation short. And she only visited him twice, both were quick visits too. He was kind of hoping she would keep him company as long as possible while he was cooped up in that God forsaken room, but he figured it was because of Hannah's party. Yet on the phone, she sounded so drained and so spent, 

getting ready for the party could not have been **that **hard… Maybe she didn't want to visit him because of the way he looked. Eddie was banged up quite a bit. Maybe it was too much for her to handle, too hard for her to see him in this helpless state. After all, women do get disturbed by the slightest things; especially when it comes to family and friends getting hurt.

"Good. Now, go say your goodbyes, grab some clothes for tomorrow and I'll expect you to be in my hospital bed in a half-hour. Yeah?"

"Uh hu."

"Okay. Bye baby."

"Bbye."

Eddie didn't hang up the phone until he heard the click on the other end; then he paged the nurse to help him take a quick shower and ordered a bouquet of flowers and an extra meal for dinner. He didn't completely know why Janet was crying, but he wasn't going to push her later to find out. If she wanted to tell him, there was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn't. She was under a lot of stress and he didn't want to add to it. So, Eddie impatiently waited for his girl to come spend the night at his sick bedside.

Meanwhile, Janet said her quick goodbyes, made a mad dash home to grab some things, and was off to the hospital.

When she reached his room, his door was already slightly open. Before Janet went in, she took a min to re-group. She decided there would be no Rory talk, no Matt/Ray talk, no engagement party talk, and certainly no Rooster talk. Her main goal for the night was to completely relax and just- be, with him. She peeked her head inside and was in awe; the sun was setting outside so his whole room had an orange shine to it. Eddie wasn't in his bed though, he was sitting in the recliner chair beneath the window and his whole body was illuminated from the glare. His head was down and apparently he didn't know she was by the door because it seemed he was concentrating very hard at whatever was in his lap. Janet shuffled a few steps forward, his head popped back up and a clown sized grin was slapped on his face.

"There's my girl! I was just texting you."

"Am I late?"

"No, no. Just anxious I guess. I miss you like you wouldn't believe." She could feel her cheeks heating up, gave him that bashful smile and stopped a few feet away from where he was sitting. "You can put your bags in the closet if you want. I made room for you."

Janet nodded. Once she opened the closet door, nothing happened. She saw the bouquet of bright yellow daisies he got her and for some reason, she just stood there. Eddie was waiting for a cheer, or a squeal, or a twirl, or even a peep from her, but instead she dropped her bags and buried her head in her hands. As fast as he could, without hurting himself too much, rose from the chair. It only took him three steps to reach her slumped body.

"Uh, Janet?"

Finally, she busted out. "Why? WHY?"

Eddie was so confused! He thought a happy looking bunch of flowers would cheer her up, not make her break down again. "Why what? J, what is going on? I bought these for you because I knew they would put that smile I love so much back on your face, or at least I thought they would."

As she yelled out, her fists hit into his chest. Apparently she forgot how bruised he still was, don't know how though seeing as they were dark as night all over his body. "Why are you so good to me? You shouldn't have bought me these! You're the one that got the shit taken out of you; you're the one in the hospital. I'm supposed to take care of _you_, not the other way around! God damnit Eddie! You need to stop! Stop being so fucking perfect! STOP!"

Okay, now he knew something was terribly upsetting her. Janet hardly swore, she was always one to use the classic slang terms, never the hard core profanity. But now, she just said three different swears all in one breath!

Eddie bit his lip, holding back from yelping in pain as he tried to catch her flying fists. "J- you need to calm down… its ok baby. Sshhh… they're just flowers, nothing big. It's fine. You're fine. I'm ganna be fine. Everything's fine."

When he got control of her arms, Eddie pulled her in, holding her as tight as humanly possible. For a petite woman she sure knew how to give a fight. His chest hurt even more now, but he dared not to say anything. Her whimpering made him want to cringe, he never saw her like this before… she was a basket case. Picturing someone having an emotional breakdown over the phone is one thing, but to see it first hand is another. Something else was happening. Something else was going on that she wasn't talking about. It was the same something that was bothering her earlier that day before the party. Screw the whole not-talking-about-it thing. Obviously that was getting them nowhere. If Janet was going to get over whatever this "something" was, it had to come out. Eddie had to know, for her sake. The relaxing and sleeping part of the night had to wait, there was shit to deal with first.


	6. Her Fall

**I HAVE NO MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE WHAT SO EVER, SO MY DEEPEST APPOLOGIES FOR EVERYTHING MEDICAL RELATED. I HAVE NEVER EVEN BEEN ADMITTED IN A HOSPITAL BEFORE, SO I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT GOES ON... JUST WROTE THE MEDICAL STUFF FOR THE STORIE'S PURPOSE!**

* * *

Trying to calm Janet down, Eddie kept repeating in his most soothing voice possible, "it's ok… everything's fine. You're ok…" However, it wasn't working. She wouldn't stop shuddering and he could feel her whole body burning up as she kept sobbing. Eddie wanted to get her to sit down, but right now Janet was stronger than him, and if she pushed him just the right way, he knew he probably would end up on the floor. He was petrified to look into those soft, warm eyes of hers and see nothing but sheer terror.

Eddie was interrupted with his thoughts by her fingers digging into his side. Normally when she grabbed him like that, it was a suggestive move. Yet somehow, Eddie knew that was not the case. It felt like some animal was biting him, piercing him, with razor sharp teeth. Damn, her nails were long. He quickly released his hold on her and pried her hands off of him, but he still did not let go. Makeup was running down her rose-red cheeks and was glistening from the sunlight. She tried fighting him once again, but he would not budge. So, she started screaming and rambling off words instead.

"It's ruined! I ruined everything… I ruined US! I hurt you, me, Vincent… we're all ruined! Don't you understand, it's all my fault. All of it…!" Once she started sputtering off those words, Janet began to hyperventilate. She would not look him in the face; even if she did, she wouldn't really see him. She couldn't focus, she couldn't calm down… Eddie had no idea what she was referring to either.

_Ruining everything… Vincent… Rooster? What the hell…_

"Can't, do it… anymore. I love you. Did you know that? How could I-- do this to someone I love? Why did… how could I have done… damn Vincent."

And that was it. Janet was gone. Her body gave way; she tumbled down to the plastic hardwood ground. Eddie tried to stop her, but if he tried to catch the fall, he would have ended up on top of her. He did protect her head though from hitting the ground… but she wasn't moving.

"Nurse! NURSE! I need help!!" With a skip and a hop, Eddie was yelling out his hospital door, "someone help! She fell… my, my girlfriend fell. She's not moving!" Within a few seconds two nurses and Eddie's doctor was in the room. Once nurse and he doctor scooped Janet's lump body off the floor and put her on the empty hospital bed that was next to Eddie's. The other nurse was getting a needle ready to give Janet something.

"What's wrong with her? What are you doing with that… why are you taking her shirt off?" Eddie was frantic. He didn't know what to do, where to go, why she fell in the first place, and what the hell was she talking about before? Basically, he didn't know shit. He felt so, helpless. It didn't help that his own body was in shock. Adrenaline was pumping through him, his head was spinning… damn Matt. None of this would have happened if Matt didn't beat the crap out of him… he wouldn't be in the hospital, Janet would not be so upset let alone having an emotional breakdown.

"Mr. Latekka, why don't you go out in the hallway while we figure out what happened to your girlfriend."

"NO! This is my room, I'm not going anywhere." Eddie began to shuffle over to where she laid on the bed, but one of the nurses stopped him. She grabbed his hand, looked him in the eye and sternly said, "Eddie, the best thing you can do for, what's her name?"

"J-Janet. Janet Meadows."

"The best thing you can do for Janet is to step back, calm down and let the doctor examine her. You can stay here if you wish, but go sit on your bed so we don't have to pick you off the floor soon too." Eddie looked past the nurse at Janet's half exposed, lifeless body. Tears started swelling in his lids. She had an IV in now and was hooked up to a couple monitors. The rapid beeping from her heart monitor became clearer as he tried to focus more. He looked back at the nurse and nodded his head.

"Fine. But I just need to know if she's going to be ok."

The doctor finished examining her and turned towards Eddie. "Well, it looks that way… her heart beat is faster than I'd like, but I think she just had an anxiety attack. It can happen sometimes when people get overly excited, or-"

"Or overly freaking out?"

"Yeah. That too." He continued to ask Eddie her medical history (not that Eddie knew all that much to begin with, but he tried his best) and tried to figure out what exactly caused her attack.

"I don't know doc, she was going to spend the night here with me, she's been under a ton of stress lately and I wanted to help her relax, get some things off her mind… you know? And then she just started freaking out over flowers! She was sobbing and screaming, saying things that didn't make sense. Then she was hyperventilating and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell. Just like that! I couldn't catch her… I should have. I was, am, physically incapable to do it, but I should have tried better anyway. Maybe then she wouldn't-"

"There's no need to think about all the 'what ifs' Eddie. Sounds to me like something was terribly bothering her. Even if you did catch her, which quite frankly, I'm glad you didn't because it probably would have done more bad than good, to both of you, the attack still would have happened. You did the right thing Eddie. She should be fine over time, the nurse gave her some medicine and she's on an IV, so that will keep her hydrated. Did she have any alcohol in the past 24 hours?"

"Uh, yeah. Champagne I think. She had an engagement party this afternoon."

"Hmm, okay. Probably another reason why her heart rate is so fast. We'll keep an eye on her though… she won't wake up for an hour or so because of what we gave her, but Janet will be fine. In the meantime, are you ok? Do you need anything?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm hurting pretty bad… she was fighting me. Didn't exactly help the healing process."

"Fight you, physically?"

"Yeah… it's not like her doc. The whole thing. It was like, she was Janet, but a demon or something took over her. She was literally spinning out of control right in front of my eyes."

"Yeah, she had a mental breakdown. But I'll order you some morphine and get some rest too. We can have Janet stay in here, because I can tell if she didn't, you'd follow her anyway. This way it will be easier on us to take care of both of you." The doctor patted Eddie's shoulder, smiled and headed out.

Eddie shouted back, "thanks doc," pushed a chair right next to Janet's bed and held her hand. The nurses finished changing her into a hospital gown, pressed a few buttons on a monitor, made sure Eddie was alright, then finally left the room.

Well, Janet and Eddie were alone, in **their** hospital room, both on medication, both physically beat, and both unconsciously, extremely worried.


End file.
